Austin City Limits 2017

Festival guide

With a line-up so good they're doing it twice, Austin City Limits will be taking over Zilker Park across the weekends of both October 6th to 8th, and the 13th to 18th. With tasty food and an art market, the artists playing aren't the festival's only attraction, but they're definitely a highlight: from huge names like Jay-Z and Ice Cube through to the up and coming likes of Bibi Bourelly and Pumarosa, there's plenty for any music fan to get their teeth stuck into.

Top picks

This four-piece were formed in the midst of political turmoil in Mali, when they were forced out of their homes in the north and decided to make music for their fellow refugees, "to recreate that lost ambience of the north". They started out covering the legendary Ali Farka Touré, but have certainly come into their own: the desert grooves that Songhoy Blues specialise in are deliciously sweet, warm and lithe and should make for an especially epic rock-esque show. Damon Albarn and Julian Casablancas are big fans, so needless to say you should be too.

Don't miss this chance to see one of the founding fathers of gangsta rap. Whether you know him from NWA, the iconic solo career that brought us one of the greatest rap stories of all time ("It Was A Good Day", obviously), or even from the "bye Felicia" memes, it's not as though O'Shea Jackson Sr. (better known as Ice Cube) really needs an introduction. But if you want one anyway, he's got a trademark pissed-off tone when he spits bars that veer between comical sleaze and hard-hitting sociopolitical commentary, and, essentially, he's excellent.

They've been around for such a long time now that it's kind of easy to forget how cool Gorillaz actually are: the concept of an animated band involving Damon Albarn that makes enticing electronic music with features from the likes of Danny Brown, Vince Staples, Popcaan and even Grace Jones is genuinely phenomenal. With their rich and twisted sounds often topped with nonchalantly smooth vocals, all combined with the fact they are literally cartoons performing on stage (we're not totally sure how it works either), this show should be incredible.